Thursday, November 02, 2006

Paperstand

Barron’s Online discusses Campbell Soup (CPB), whose stock has gained 25% ytd. But that might be as good as it gets for Campbell's share price for a while. "I don't see a lot of upside for this stock," says David Tuzzolino, of Mellon Financial's private wealth mgmt group. "Campbell is a good co, and the stock has had a very good year so far, but I think there is a lot of enthusiasm already baked into the stock price." Certainly, food makers remain a defensive sector if the economy lands hard next year. Investors still need to eat, even in a slowing or recessionary economy. But like many consumer staple stocks, Campbell appears expensive, especially compared to the co's staid earnings growth rate. The stock already reflects plenty of excitement over new, higher-priced products targeting health conscious Americans. And with anxieties over a slowing economy fading and other soup makers nipping at their heels, Campbell's stock could languish. Or as Steven Ralston, of Zacks Investment Research says, "The risks facing this stock could mitigate the potential rewards."

“Inside Scoop” section reports that American Realty (AFR) CEO Harold Pote shelled out $584K for 50K American Financial shares on Oct. 31. Pote was named the co's CEO on Aug. 17, replacing former CEO Nicholas S. Schorsch, who resigned "by mutual agreement" with American Financial's board. Pote joined the co's board in Mar‘06. Ben Silverman, of InsiderScore.com, says that Pote's purchase is a bullish signal, especially since he already holds a large amount of restricted common shares, including 500K awarded when he became CEO.